It looks as if Ryan Seacrest might be returning to American Idol after all, because Kelly Ripa, his co-host on Live with Kelly and Ryan!, does not want him around. It is not because Ryan is bad for ratings, though; it is actually because he is too good!

Why Kelly Ripa Wants Ryan Seacrest Off Her Show

Ripa has been on Live for more than 15 years. She has performed alongside multiple co-hosts during her run, and, ever since Regis Philbin left the show in 2011, Kelly’s has been the biggest name the hosting panel has had to offer, bar none. That is, until Seacrest joined Ripa on her show earlier this month.

As a previous Inquisitr report points out, Seacrest is a huge star; he might even be a bigger name than Kelly Ripa. Kelly quickly decided she was not having that. She wanted to be in charge, and co-hosting on a show called Live With Ryan and Kelly! rather than Live With Kelly and Ryan! (even if the name change was only one perceived by the viewers) would not do.

Radar Online managed to wrangle up a statement from an insider on the show who spilled the dirt about Kelly, claiming that she is unhappy with the situation and would like a more obscure celeb to replace him.

“Kelly wanted someone she could boss around — and that isn’t Ryan,” the inside source said.

Apparently, Kelly got no part in choosing her co-star — it was purely a network decision based on who would help ratings the most. It’s no big surprise, then, that they went for the biggest star possible on their budget. Still, continues the insider, this incident has been a painfully humbling experience for Ripa.

“Kelly is certainly a big star now,” they conceded,” but she’s learning that she’s not big enough to call the shots when it comes to who’ll be sitting beside her when the cameras roll.

“That’s got to hurt.”

In typical Hollywood fashion, Ripa and Seacrest are not copping to their disagreement, probably because they know it would damage the illusion of great interpersonal chemistry that is so key to Live!

“Kelly and Ryan are having a great time together, and their chemistry is apparent to anyone who watches the show,” said a spokesman for Live With Kelly and Ryan! in a statement issued exclusively to the Inquisitr, for what it’s worth.

Is Ryan Seacrest Returning to American Idol?

It is seeming more and more likely that Ryan’s stint on Live! will be cut short by the TV show that made him a household name, American Idol.

The show is moving to ABC, but it will still undoubtedly be tied to Seacrest in the minds of many, and those who were fans on the show when it was on FOX would surely love to see Kelly Ripa’s current co-star retake the Idol stage. One such fan is American Idol creator Simon Fuller, who says that he himself would be hesitant to support the show if the ex-host did not reprise his role.

“There would be no ‘American Idol’ without Ryan Seacrest,” Fuller told Variety two weeks ago.

Seacrest himself said on an episode of Live! that he had hoped to return to Idol, but was having second thoughts because it would just be too demanding to balance time on the show with his gig with Kelly Ripa.

“I had said at the end of the series, ‘Goodbye for now,’ hoping somewhere it would come back,” Ryan reflected.

Will Ryan Seacrest be making an American Idol comeback? What it would seem to come down to is whether the Live! rep was telling the truth when he wrote that Kelly and Ryan are getting along fine. It’s obviously impossible to tell for sure, but it’s probably not much of a question where Seacrest would feel more at home.

Do you want Ryan Seacrest back on the upcoming season of American Idol? If not, who do you think would make a good host? Make yourself heard in the comments section below!

[Featured image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]